Nation

AirAsia to use Interpol database

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia will start screening passports with Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database in a move to prevent passengers from using stolen or lost travel documents.

The I-Checkit system, which will be implemented later this month, would enable the passport numbers to be compared with the database which contains about 40 million records from 167 countries.

“No personal data will be transmitted to Interpol. Only the travel document number, form of document and country code would be screened against SLTD.

“Should a passport register a positive match, AirAsia has procedures in place that will refer the passenger to local authorities.

Interpol’s procedures will simultaneously be engaged to notify all relevant Interpol national central bureaus worldwide,” AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said in a statement.

(The tragedy of MH370 in March has led to the discovery that two passengers on board had travelled using stolen passports.)

The system will cover all AirAsia’s network of 100 airports across Asia and 600 international flights per day to about 20 countries.

Interpol secretary-general Ronald K. Noble said the I-Checkit would raise the bar in ensuring passenger safety by preventing people from using stolen or lost passports from boarding international flights.

“Airlines will no longer have to depend solely on countries screening passports to keep passengers safe from terrorists and other criminals who use stolen passports,” he said.

Currently, fewer than 10 countries systematically screen passports against the SLTD database on international flights, leaving approximately six out of every 10 passports unscreened.